Uranus as ruler of astrology
Draco,
You said:
Don't shoot the messenger here but I think that I would consider Mercury as appropriate ruler of astrology and astrologers rather than Uranus. I found this quote from 'The Real Astrology' , by John Frawley
Complementary to this is the idea that these new planets rule things that had no existence prior to thier discovery...astrology itself has been given to rulership of Uranus (astrology presumably not having existed before 1781), a planet which has developed a reputation for amiable eccentricity. In the tradition, astrology was ruled by Mercury. Where once astrologers saw themselves as thinkers, they now style themselves as eccentrics...
...astrology it is still Mercurial in it's nature: inquisitive, investigative, calculative and concerning knowledge, thought and idea. For me, Mercury, first and foremost, was, is and always will be the planet of astrology and astrologers.
Not for the purpose of shooting the messenger, but for the purpose of extending this discussion, let's take another look at Mercury energy and what it has to do with astrology. Mercury energy is about the energy of details, symbolically it is the early stage in our life where we are gathering the details around us and trying to put them in context: we have just become aware of our "physical" nature (2nd house), are not quite sure "where we are" (not yet in the 4th house of home), and are putting together a list of "things" we have and are associated with (3rd house, ruled by Mercury). So Mercury by itself can get absorbed in the details of things, but does not put those details into a valuable social context. Mercury is about "Social Learning", learning the basics of social things without knowing yet how to apply them.
Now consider Uranus and 11th house. 11th house is about "Social Security", understanding how we fit into a social context and figuring out what we are going to do about it. Unlike 3rd house, 11th house is very FAR along our personal development (there is only one house after the 11th house, the 12th house, before we complete the cycle of houses, symbolic of our life development). Also 11th house (ruled by Uranus) has to do with "other people's self-expression, so 11th house is the area where we focus on other people and helping them find a social context in life. This is MORE than just loading up on social details, this is helping people to USE those social details to become more "settled" with who they are.
Unlike John Frawley, I believe in an EVOLUTION of sign rulerships, that things which USED to be ruled by one planet can now be ruled by a DIFFERENT planet due to our evolution in "planetary energy consciousness" (such as when Uranus took over rulership of Aquarius from Saturn (ancient ruler of Aquarius) ). As we become more used to using and developing Uranian energy in ourselves and around us (an ability which will grow during the Aquarian age we are in (Uranus rules Aquarius) ), we become more used to using the FULL extent of Uranian energy, not just its immature "rebellion" at everything, but also its ability to energize those around us for their betterment.
As evidence of this, look at the growing inter-relation of astrology and the computer (all ruled by Uranus, according to the theory I have been proposing). Computers and astrology, while at one-time only distantly related have been coming closer and closer together, to the point that many modern astrologers couldn't imagine being an astrologer without a computer - particularly in having access to the Internet. And computers have freed us from needing to go through all the details simply to do astrology. Now the computer handles the details and we handle the interpretation. While some people have said this creates a "dumbing down" of astrology, to me it creates a greater accessibility to astrology: while charting can a complex, difficult business, being able to push a few buttons on the computer and create a chart eliminates the "data" focus and creates the possibility of a "person" focus.
Also, with the decrease of focus on getting the "details", there is an increase in the number of people who can now do astrology and help others. Thanks to the Internet and astrology software, MANY people can now get their feet wet in astrology, offering their thoughts and ideas, sharing their life learnings with others, and work to help out complete strangers. While some astrologers would not regard these people as "real" astrologers, since they don't have astrological "clients" in the traditional sense, to me they are VERY MUCH astrologers, because they are using their time and effort to try to help develop other's social security and understand their "place" in the world.
And, to me, that is what astrology, ruled by Uranus, is all about!
Uranistically,
Tim
